| Abstract: | L. J. Rips and F. G. Conrad (see record 1989-24843-001) reported a puzzling but consistent result from a series of experiments designed to study folk beliefs about the mind. For example, subjects accept both "Dreaming is a kind of experiencing" and "Experiencing is a part of dreaming." Because this pattern is not observed for objects—"A hammer is a kind of tool" is acceptable, but "A tool is part of a hammer" is not—Rips and Conrad suggested that their results provide clues to differences between folk and scientific psychology. An alternative interpretation developed here holds that their results are not peculiar to terms denoting mental processes and shed no new light on folk theories of the mind; instead, they are quite general and follow from treating verbs as if they were nouns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
